Learning Objectives:
a. Receive and handle raw materials and products according to standard operating procedures.
b. Conduct inspection and sorting according to required
specifications, OHS requirements and workplace procedures. c. Inspect raw materials and products for visible signs of defects
according to processing and purchasing specifications. d. Sort raw materials and products in accordance with physical
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e. Weigh and keep inspected and sorted raw materials and products in accordance with standard operating procedures f. Report rejected/sub-standard raw materials and products to
appropriate person and/or disposed according to organizational guidelines.
Pre- Assessment
Identify the answers found inside the boxes to the questions below.
1. It is a vital component of the visual quality of fresh foods.
2. It is the application of tests and measuring devices to compare products and performance with specified standards.
3. It is carried out on the basis of individual physical properties.
4. It is the assessment of the overall quality of a food using a number of attributes.
5. It is the combination of properties which determine product quality and process effectiveness.
Grading
Sorting
Color Inspection
Functional Property Geometric Property
Shelf life Nutrition Facts
External Force Flavor
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6. It is the duration or period wherein a fishery product remain in consumable quality.
7. It is a rather subjective property which is difficult to quantify. 8. It is the result of mechanical injury to fish.
9. It arises from physical changes such as variation in temperature and moisture content of fish.
10. This is found in the label of the fishery products. It serves as
source of info to the customer to guide them on what they are eating
What to KNOW?
LO 2.1 Types of Raw Materials and Fishery Products and its Properties
The selection of raw materials is a vital consideration to the quality of processed products. The quality of raw materials can rarely be improved during processing, and while sorting and grading operations can aid by removing oversize, undersize, or poor-quality units, it is vital to procure materials whose properties most closely match the requirements of the process. Quality is a wide-ranging concept and is determined by many factors. It is a composite of those physical and chemical properties of the material which govern its acceptability to the ‘‘user.’’ The latter may be the final consumer, or more likely in this case, the food processor. Geometric properties, color, flavor, texture, nutritive value, and freedom from defects are the major properties likely to determine quality.
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Properties of Raw Materials
The main raw material properties of importance to the processor are geometric, and functional properties.
A. Geometric Properties
Food units of regular geometry are much easier to handle and are better suited to high-speed mechanized operations. In addition, the more uniform the geometry of raw materials, the less rejection and waste will be produced during preparation operations such as peeling, trimming, and slicing.
Color
Color and color uniformity are vital components of the visual quality of fresh foods, and play a major role in consumer choice. However, it may be less important for processing. For low-temperature processes, such as chilling, freezing, or freeze drying, the color changes little during processing, and thus the color of the raw material is a good guide to suitability for processing.
Texture
The texture of raw materials is usually changed during processing. Textural changes are caused by a wide variety of effects, including water loss, protein denaturation which may result in loss of water-holding capacity or coagulation, hydrolysis, and solubility of proteins.
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Flavor
Flavor is a rather subjective property which is difficult to quantify. Flavor quality of horticultural products is influenced by genotype and a range of pre- and postharvest factors. Optimizing maturity/ripeness stage in relation to flavor at the time of processing is a key issue. Again, flavors are altered during processing, and following severe processing, the main flavors may be derived from additives. Hence, the lack of strong flavors may be the most important requirement.
B. Functional Properties of Raw Materials
The functionality of a raw material is the combination of properties which determine product quality and process effectiveness. These properties differ greatly for different raw materials and processes, and may be measured by chemical analysis or process testing.
Specifications of Raw Materials
In practice, processors define their requirements in terms of raw material specifications for any process on arrival at the factory gate. Acceptance of, or price paid for, the raw material depends on the results of specific tests, to wit:
Fish Freshness – physical characteristics of fresh fish-bright red gills, few
slime, bright eyes, scales adhere to the skin, fish odor and pH of 6.0 to 7.0 using a pH meter or sinks when soaked in a basin water.
Species of Fish– It is important that we are familiar with the different
species of fish so that we can process them well. We can use them in preparing minced products like sausage, burger, fish ball, embotido, spread, luncheon meat, meat loaf, etc
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Color- color is important to determine the freshness of the raw materials.
e.g., red eyes when stale; red gills when fresh.
Flavor – Most the products with good aroma or odor have likewise good
flavor.
Texture – Texture is an important factor in assessing the quality of the
fishery and fishery by-product.
Moisture content – The moisture content of the fishery products vary
which could be influenced further by the processing method employed. This is the amount of water in fish that could be utilized by microorganism for growth.
Shelf-life – This is the duration or period wherein a fishery product remains
in consumable quality. Generally, fish and fishery products vary but could be influenced by the processing method employed; thus the longer the shelf-life the better. Exception to this is the pickled fishery product, a semi- preserved type of processed product.
Nutrition facts – this is found on the label of the fishery product. It serves
as source of info to the customer to guide them on what they are eating.
LO 2.2 Procedures and Techniques in the Inspection and
Sorting of Raw Materials and Products
Inspection is the application of tests and measuring devices to compare products and performance with specified standards. It determines whether a given fishery product falls within specified limits of variability and therefore, acceptable or unacceptable (defective). Acceptance inspection or screening, cannot determine good quality in a product; it merely identifies non-acceptable units after defects have occurred. By determining substandard work during and after processing, however, inspection helps
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control quality by providing the fish processor useful information in determining causes of defective product.
Purposes of Inspection
1. Accept or Reject – good quality products are accepted based on the set of specification as to formulation like color, flavor, texture, weight, nutritive values, microbial test, and shelf-life.
2. Evaluate average quality – Sampling evaluation of the product is more practical than undertaking 100 percent evaluation/inspection. To give equal chance, the products sampling must be taken at random.
3. Determine uniformity – if all of the 31 kilos of smoked fish are uniform as to their formulations, color, flavor, texture, weight, nutritive values, microbial test, and shelf-life, then they meet the standards and are acceptable for commercialization and human consumption.
LO 2.3 Grading of Raw Materials or Products
In grading raw materials needed in Fish processing, the following qualities should be observed:
1. The skin of freshwater fish has a bright color. 2. Scales adhere strongly to the skin.
3. Gills are bright red and covered with clean slime. 4. The flesh is firm and elastic.
5. The body is rigid, stiff and belly walls intact, not ruptured. 6. It sinks in water, although some tend to float if gassy. 7. The skin is shiny and bright.
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LO 2.4. Defects of Raw Materials
Damage to Raw Materials
Damage may occur at any point from growing to the final point of sale. It may arise from external or internal forces.
• External forces result in mechanical injury to fish, fruits and vegetables, cereal grains, eggs, and even bones in poultry. They occur due to rough handling as a result of careless manipulation, poor equipment design, incorrect containerization, and unsuitable mechanical handling equipment.
• Internal forces arise from physical changes such as variation in
temperature and moisture content, and may result in skin cracks in fruits and vegetables, or stress cracks in cereals and for Fishery products due to longer chilled storage the eyes structure become concave. The scales will get removed and the skin becomes bare which is undesirable and not economic. Weight loss in shrimps occurs due to leaching of amino acids and vitamins from the fish body when the ice melts. Color change in the fish occurs when chilled.
Either internal or external damages leave the material open to further biological or chemical damages including enzymic browning of bruised tissue, or infestation of punctured surfaces by molds and rots.
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LO 2.5 Physical Properties for Sorting Foods
A. Difference Between Grading and Sorting
Sorting and grading are terms which are frequently used interchangeably in the food processing industry, but strictly speaking they are distinct operations. Sorting is a segregation based on a single measurable property of raw material units, while grading is ‘‘the assessment of the overall quality of food using a number of attributes.’’ Grading of fresh produce may also be defined as ‘‘sorting according to quality,’’ as sorting usually upgrades the product.
Virtually all food products undergo some type of sorting operation. There are a number of benefits, including the need for sorted units in weight filling operations, and the aesthetic and marketing advantages in providing uniform-sized or uniform-colored units. In addition, it is much easier to control processes such as sterilization, dehydration, or freezing in sorted food units, and they are also better suited to mechanized operations such as size reduction, pitting, or peeling.
B. Basis of Sorting:
By weight- the most precise method of sorting, as it is not dependent on the geometry of the products.
By size– is less precise because it requires a number of physical parameter but is considerably cheaper.
By shape– useful in cases where the food units are contaminated with particles of similar size and weight, particular in grains that may contain other seeds.
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By density– can also be a marker of suitability; density of peas correlates with tenderness and sweetness, while the solid content of potatoes which determine suitability of manufacture of crisps and dried products relate to density. It can be achieved using flotation in brine at different concentrations.
By photometric properties– this make use of photocell which compare reflectance food unit to preset standard that make it very expensive.
By color- is often a measure of maturity, presence of defect or degree of processing.
What to PROCESS?
Activity 1.
Each group will choose raw materials to bring to class, either fish or shellfish and sort and grade it according to the prescribed qualities for fish processing.
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What to REFLECT and UNDERSTAND?
Conduct actual inspection in some backyard fish Processing Plants in your locality. Observe and make personal interview on how they inspect and sort the raw materials used.
Activity 2.
Make a summary report based on the interview conducted following the format given below and report it on the class.
Name of Practitioner:_____________________________ Kind of Business:_______________________________ Address:_______________________________________ Date Conducted:________________ Time:__________
Please check the corresponding indicators if it is observed or not observed. Put some remarks if there is additional information during the conduct interview.
A. Raw materials ( Fishery Products)
Indicator Observed Not
observed
Remarks Signs of being spoiled or damaged
Indication of insects or vermin attack
Good quality raw materials are used
Suitable for their intended purpose Dust or dirt as a result of poor
storage and handling practices.
B. Inspection of Tools, utensils and equipment used
Well sanitized Not damaged
In good working condition
Meet manufacturers specifications Suitable for their intended purpose
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What to TRANSFER?
Now that you have all the information, are you ready to test your ability to inspect and sort the materials and products in accordance with physical property specifications? If your answer is yes, follow the procedure stated in the Task Sheet below.
Task Sheet Title:
Inspect raw materials and products for visible signs of defects according to set processing and purchasing specifications.
Performance Objectives:
Given the available fish processing raw materials and products, inspect these
fish processing raw materials and products for visible signs of defects according to set processing and purchasing specifications.
Supplies/Materials:
• Raw materials and Products
Equipment:
None
Steps/Procedures:
1. Gather all the necessary materials needed for the task.
2. Inspect the raw materials and products for visible signs of defects according to set and processing and purchasing specifications that you have learned 3. Submit your work to your teacher.
Assessment Method:
Direct observation Demonstration
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Answer this post-test to enable you to find out what you already know. Write your answer in your test notebook
You will be evaluated using this scale.
1-Poorly performed 2 - Slightly 3 - Fair 4 - Good 5 - Procedures properly followed
Indicator 5 4 3 2 1
Reported 15-20 rejected/sub-standard raw materials and products for visible signs of defects according to set processing and purchasing specifications.
Reported 9-14 rejected/sub-standard raw
materials and products for visible signs of defects according to set processing and purchasing specifications.
Reported 5-8 rejected/sub-standard raw
materials and products for visible signs of defects according to set processing and purchasing specifications.
Reported 1-4 rejected/sub-standard raw
materials and products for visible signs of defects according to set processing and purchasing specifications.
Post- Assessment
Identify the answers found inside the boxes to the questions below.
Grading
Sorting
Color Inspection
Functional Property Geometric Property
Shelf life Nutrition Facts External Force Flavor
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1. It is a vital component of the visual quality of fresh foods.
2. It is the application of tests and measuring devices to compare products and performance with specified standards.
3. It is carried out on the basis of individual physical properties.
4. It is the assessment of the overall quality of a food using a number of attributes.
5. It is the combination of properties which determine product quality and process effectiveness.
6. It is the duration or period wherein a fishery product remain in consumable quality.
7. It is a rather subjective property which is difficult to quantify. 8. It is the result of mechanical injury to fish.
9. It arises from physical changes such as variation in temperature and moisture content of fish.
10. This is found in the label of the fishery products. It serves as source of info to the customer to guide them on what they are eating